NCAA Tournament 2017, Gonzaga vs West Virginia: Highlights, score and recap

Highlights from Thursday’s Sweet 16 matchup between the top-seeded Gonzaga Bulldogs and No. 4 seed West Virginia Mountaineers.

It wasn’t the most beautiful basketball of the 2017 NCAA Tournament, but the top-seeded Gonzaga Bulldogs advanced to the West Regional Final with a 61-58 win over the West Virginia Mountaineers in an intense physical battle on Thursday night in San Jose.

Gonzaga’s top-ranked defense held the Mountaineers to 1-of-9 shooting out of the gate, but West Virginia hung close by getting to the free throw line early on. Five points from Jonathan Williams helped the Bulldogs build a 13-9 advantage heading into the under-12, as neither offense could find much rhythm.

After a few more minutes of discombobulated offense, Williams and Jevon Carter traded perimeter shots as the clock ticked under the 8:00 the first made 3-point attempts of the game. West Virginia narrowed the deficit to 21-20 moments later behind a pair of turnovers from its relentless press, while Gonzaga started to struggle with foul trouble.

Despite making all of seven field goals in the first half, West Virginia tied things up at 30 heading into the break thanks to 11 rebounds and 15-of-20 performance from the charity stripe. Both teams combined for 13 turnovers and 27 personal fouls, and Williams was the only player to find any flow offensively with 11 points on 4-of-4 shooting.

The foul fest continued early in the second, but Gonzaga took a 41-34 advantage three minutes in on back-to-back 3s by Jordan Matthews, the latter of which resulted in a four-point play. Przemek Karnowski then started to take over in the paint, helping the Bulldogs to their biggest lead at 45-37 with 13:49 to go.

Carter wasn’t done yet, and scored six straight against a Bulldogs defense that wasn’t allowing any good looks throughout the game. Even with key piece Nathan Adrian exiting following his fourth foul, the Mountaineers battled back to tie the game at 47 with 8:46 to go by forcing seven straight Gonzaga misses, along with two more turnovers.

Gonzaga point guard Nigel Williams-Goss picked up his fourth personal on an offensive foul less than half a minute later. West Virginia took the lead on a slam from Sagaba Konate to cap off a 13-4 run, as the Gonzaga’s offense had even less flow without Williams-Goss.

Mark Few decided to put Williams-Goss back in with under 5:30 to go, and he immediately tied the game at 52 on a jumper, just his second made field goal of the game. Daxter Miles Jr. buried his first three to again tie things at 55 as the clock ticked under two minutes, setting up an intense finish to an otherwise ugly game.

Carter canned another triple on the ensuing West Virginia possession, but the Mountaineers would miss a pair of free throws with the chance to keep the lead at three in the final minute. Matthews then canned a perimeter shot with 52 seconds left to put Gonzaga up 60-58 following a wild scramble for a loose ball that included a Josh Perkins block on an Adrian layup.

Needing a three to tie the game, the Mountaineers  grabbed two offensive rebounds on Carter misses, yet could not get a third shot up before time expired to seal the 61-58 win for the Bulldogs. Gonzaga’s defense held West Virginia to just 26 percent shooting from the field to overcome 16 turnovers and 19 offensive rebounds, as the Bulldogs were able to survive exactly the type of game West Virginia likes to play.

Three Stars

3. Przemek Karnowski, F, Gonzaga. Tied for team lead with 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting, including a number of key buckets in the second half.

2. Jevon Carter, G, West Virginia. Only semblance of offense for the Mountaineers with 21 points on 6-of-17 shooting, plus seven rebounds.

1. Jordan Matthews, G, Gonzaga. Grad transfer from California nailed one of the biggest shots in Gonzaga history as part of a 13-point performance.

Highlights

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The Bulldogs will look to advance to their first Final Four in school history against the winner of Xavier and Arizona.